Question your algorithms

摘要

In What is Fair ? Algorithms in Criminal Justice" (Issues, Spring 2018), Stephanie Wykstra does a masterful job summarizing challenges faced by algorithmic risk assessments used to inform criminal justice decisions. These are routine decisions made by police officers, magistrates, judges, parole boards, probation officers, and others. There is surely room for improvement. The computer algorithms increasingly being deployed can foster better decisions by improving the accuracy, fairness, and transparency of risk forecasts.